Diwali in Indonesia

Indonesia, officially known as the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands.

The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Jakarta is the capital and the largest city of Indonesia. Other major cities of Indonesia include – Surabaya, Bandung, Bekasi, Medan, Tangerang, Depok, Semarang, Palembang, Makassar, Pekanbaru, etc.

Indonesian in the official language of the country.

Diwali Celebrations in Indonesia :

The majority of population in Indonesia follows Islam. However around 3 % of population follows Hinduism and these Hindu’s celebrate Diwali just as it is celebrated in India.

In Indonesia, most of the Hindu population is located on the island of Bali. These Balinese Hindus turn the island into one hopping Diwali celebration that nearly mirrors that of India.

In Bali, grand Diwali melas or fairs are organised which are full of swings, shows by puppeteers, jugglers and clowns and all Diwali stuff that people shop around prior to Diwali.

Just like in India, Hindu’s in Indonesia clean their homes prior to Diwali. During Diwali they decorate their homes with lights and diya’s, eat lots of sweets and delicious foods, make beautiful rangoli’s outside their homes, burst crackers and spend time with friends and family members.

They also visit temples and worship god and goddesses. They also perform the Lakshmi Ganesh Puja during Diwali.

Just like in India, people over here also celebrate Diwali for a period of five days.